Currently a multitude of boats are known that incorporate dredging systems and/or waste collecting means with the purpose of cleaning coasts, rivers, marshes, internal waters, etc. More specifically, for the case of cleaning sea beds, there are boats made up of a dredge which performs its task on the bottom, lifting the collected material to the surface and depositing it in a container to subsequently be taken away to a suitable place.
On the other hand, concerning the cleaning of coastal and river surfaces, there also exist boats provided with means for collecting all types of waste, petroleum spills, oils and rubbish. It has been proven that 1 m3 of hydrocarbon can form a stain 100 m in diameter, with a thickness of 1 mm, in scarcely 90 minutes.
A known system for cleaning ports, marshes and reservoirs is that wherein a boat incorporates a collection basket submerged in the water surface, so that as the boat advances, solid wastes enter the basket, which is lifted to the boat every certain amount of time, to be emptied.
This system features two basic drawbacks: one of them consists of the fact that the collection of the basket is carried out manually, and due to the heavy weight thereof, the removal of the basket and placement thereof on the boat is very problematic, requiring very demanding physical strength. On the other hand, the basket in question is equipped with a large orifice wherethrough the solid waste enters but, likewise, due to the effect of the waves, said waste can exit the basket before it is collected, because, as mentioned above, it is only collected periodically. It also must not be forgotten that when the basket is on the surface of the boat, waste continues to pass underneath the hull of the boat, and it obviously cannot be collected.
Another system for the cleaning of ports and suchlike consists of a boat which incorporates a “spoon”, situated at water level, on the frontal part thereof, so that as the boat advances, solid waste is introduced therein.
Said system features the same drawbacks as the first system mentioned above, i.e., when the spoon is taken off of the water surface to dump the waste in a suitable container, the boat continues to move and the waste present on the surface of the water cannot be collected. Furthermore, and given that the spoon tends to be large, the dumping of the rubbish into the container is performed either when the spoon is full or periodically, some waste occasionally leaving the spoon due to the effect of the waves.
More specifically, Spanish patent ES2161577, as well as utility models ES1015065 and ES250687, disclose boats of the “catamaran” type for cleaning surfaces in rivers, marshes and internal waters. Said boats incorporate a sliding platform or conveyor belt, sloped and ascending, by means whereof waste and/or spills that are floating on the surface of the water are continuously collected and filtered. This waste is housed in a container which is subsequently emptied once arriving ashore.
The technical drawback proposed herein is that all of the previously mentioned boats require large tanks or stores where the collected waste can temporarily be housed until the final deposit thereof in containers on shore. Said storage waste tanks are enormous, which directly influences the total size of the ship, making its transport and manoeuvrability very problematic, preventing the access thereof to shallow places and thus limiting its use. Additionally, the considerable economic costs derived from the consumption of fuel of these large boats must be highlighted.